IT security, while a critical topic to consider, can often be dry and challenging to communicate. We decided to change things up a bit and present this information in a different format to keep things fresh, putting together a simple soap opera to share these lessons instead. As such, please imagine soft strings playing in the background and a soft filter over the scene.
Data—ones and zeroes in sequence—runs the world… even in the quiet town of Oak Falls. Let’s check in on the residents of this little town, but beware. Threats exist even here, so make sure you’re keeping a close eye on… All My Data!
Sebastian Melendez entered his office space, coffee cup in one hand and briefcase in the other. Setting his coffee mug on his heated coaster, he settled behind his desk and logged into his computer. He looked around as his web browser began to load.
He had worked hard for years to make it where he was, and it had been a hard road to get this far.
In his youth, he had been kidnapped for months before being rescued by a mysterious stranger whom he only knew as “Ace.” Afterwards, people treated him differently—fragile and meant to be protected, but always kept at arm’s length. After years of hard work and diligent study, Sebastian finally managed to establish himself as an independent, capable, working professional… starting Strongroot Accounting and Finance and eventually being able to employ a small team to work with him. It was hard to believe he had managed to build his modest little operation.
Smiling to himself a little, Sebastian returned his attention to his computer’s display. Still spinning. That was annoying.
The young business owner sighed and stood, running his hand over his raven, perfectly styled hair. Glancing at the clock, he saw it was 7:46 in the morning. He might as well get the office ready for the arrival of the rest of his team. He walked over to the designated break room and retrieved the box of doughnuts he liked to get for his team on Fridays. Moving from workspace to workspace, he distributed the pastries to the appropriate desks. Val liked the chocolate-dipped pumpkin cruller, Rene preferred a mix of assorted donut holes, Shepherd’s go-to was a classic Boston cream, and Lincoln stuck to the basic cider doughnut.
Sebastian took advantage of this time to also help himself to his doughnut—jelly-filled with powdered sugar—before returning to his seat. Taking a bite of the confection, his brow furrowed again as he observed his workstation’s display.
He was finally logged in, but none of his applications had their little icons. He tried clicking into his company’s accounting practice management software and immediately regretted it. The icon flickered momentarily, and the mouse pointer again turned into an hourglass. He set his half-eaten doughnut on his desk and leaned back in his chair.
Frustrated, he turned to his team. They all seemed to be experiencing the same issue. Val and Lincoln were aggressively clicking away and tapping keys on their keyboards, while Rene seemed to be trying to pass the time by scrolling through something on her phone. Shepherd was also on his phone, but he seemed to be actively looking something up. Sebastian saw his face fall as he read what was on his display.
Sebastian spoke up.
“Is everyone else having a hard time using their computers?”
His team members nodded in confirmation, except Shepherd. Instead, Shepherd rubbed his brow before getting up and moving to his boss’ desk.
“Sebastian, I think we have a problem. I’m pretty sure I know what’s going on.”
Sebastian looked at his employee. His face seemed calm, but there was an apparent panic in his eyes and a quiver in his voice.
“Okay, did you find something?” Sebastian almost didn’t want to hear the answer.
“Yeah.” Shepherd hesitated. “Have you ever heard of a denial-of-service attack?”
“No… why, what’s that?”
“Okay, so a denial-of-service attack is basically when someone targets something, like, a website or even a business’ server, and sends it a bunch of traffic until it overwhelms it and crashes it.”
Sebastian winced. “That doesn’t sound good.”
Shepherd nodded. “It isn’t. So, you know how everything we’ve been trying to do today has been taking forever, if it even works? That’s because someone’s throwing a bunch of junk traffic into our network.”
Seeing Sebastian’s puzzled expression, Shepherd changed course.
“You know how the bridge to the mainland normally has three lanes going either way?”
Sebastian nodded, unsure of how this was relevant.
“Okay, so remember how Seraphina Thorne finally confronted her father, Alistaire Rose, about how he was laundering money through her animal shelter? They had that big showdown on the bridge last month, right in the middle of rush hour?”
“Yeah, they had to shut down, like, half the lanes. It took forever to get across”
“Okay, so think of that bridge as our network connection. Normally, there’s plenty of room for all of our traffic. Each of us—” Shepherd gestured around the room. “—has the digital space to do what we need to do.
“A denial-of-service attack basically does what Seraphina and Alistaire did when they blocked those lanes. Just like a few lanes were suddenly used up, that junk traffic is using up some of our bandwidth… and now all of our legitimate traffic is competing for a fraction of what it usually has.”
“And that’s why nothing’s working?”
“That’s why nothing’s working.”
Suddenly, the reality of the situation was crystal clear to Sebastian. The jelly doughnut he was chewing suddenly tasted like dusty tar, and what he had already eaten started turning in his stomach. It made sense. He again sat down at his desk, watching his computer struggle to load.
Sebastian cast his gaze around the room once again, seeing his team sitting idly at their desks. While he understood there wasn’t much they could do, he couldn’t help but see his hard-earned dollars slipping away.
His mobile phone rang, startling him. He looked at the display and saw it was Paloma Cortez, one of his first-ever clients, who had trusted him for years. Of course his office phone wouldn’t work, it also used the network. He quickly answered.
“Hello, Paloma.”
Sebastian grimly explained the situation, unsuccessfully trying to keep Paloma’s distress from sending him deeper into a spiral. Despite years of success, Paloma was spooked enough to put a full pause on her services… and Sebastian could hardly blame her.
He foresaw a day of similar calls, entirely out of his control.
TO BE CONTINUED…
***
On the next All My Data!, we’ll see what will happen next. Will Sebastian be able to save his business? Will Shepherd figure out how to solve the problem, or will an expert need to be found? Will Alistaire Rose finally be brought to justice? Tune in to find out!
All My Data! is presented thanks to Trailblazers Tech Solutions, one of the best IT support providers Houston and Surrounding Areas has to offer. Keep this blog on your radar for our next episode, and call (281) 916-1101 for any IT assistance your business needs.
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